← Don't Miss This Study
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- [00:02]
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Hi, there. Welcome to Don't Miss this, a scripture study podcast with Dave Butler and Grace Freeman.
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Each week, we point out things in the scriptures that we love and think you don't want to miss.
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Thanks for listening. Hi, everyone. I'm Dave Butler.
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I'm Grace Freeman.
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Welcome to Don't Miss this, our weekly scripture study class. You guys. Merry Christmas. It's not Christmas yet, but.
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Oh, but we dressed up.
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Okay.
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Red.
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Red for Christmas because we're feeling the Christmas spirit already. We hope you are. This is December. I don't know if you're watching this first week of December, second week, but we're in it. We're so excited. Christmas is so awesome. I love it. I love that the poster is.
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We shall decorate it like a tree.
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Everyone pretend most. If you're listening, imagine really big Christmas trees behind us. We have stocks. We have so many cool things. If you're watching, tell all your friends who are listening that it was amazing. So we are excited about this. Lesson number one, because it's about believing, and that's one of my favorite words. And it's a Christmas word. And second, you guys, that means the Old Testament is coming. It's just around the riverbend. It is so close. It was fun to meet so many people at Pinners, if you live locally and came. Hi, again. Because we met to talk about one friend we met. She said, okay, I am choosing to believe you that I'm going to love the Old Testament. And I was like, I can guarantee it. Get your hopes up. Get your hopes up for that book.
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And to be honest, as high as they are, you will not be let down.
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No, it really is a book that teaches you so much. It's a book about deliverance. It's a book about learning the character of God and our covenant relationship with him. It's foundational for understanding the restoration. All other books of scripture. It just is. It's fantastic. It's a great year to just invite other friends and people to study along with you. Friends of all different Christian faiths. One of our goals for this whole process podcast, everything that we do is to just simplify spirituality. Everybody has really busy things and a lot of things to think about, but they want spirituality in their lives, and we want to simplify that. We want to talk about each week throughout the Old Testament. Let's show you where Jesus is in here, and let's show you how you can apply and live out the things that you're learning. What matters actually in just the neighborhoods that you live in. And The Old Testament teaches those kinds of lessons. So this is the week, if you haven't done it yet, to get all of your study materials for next year. All the things that are gonna help you just simplify spirituality. You're gonna have your journal. You'll just carry around. This is my journal. These are the thoughts, and these within each lesson are. Hey. These are the promises and the principles from each of these lessons that are gonna matter most to you. There's a lot in the Old Testament, and we've simplified it down for you. Just. And look at the size of it.
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You just holding it like it's your treasure.
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It is my journal. It's my journal. And. And then the tippins are for my scriptures. Right? They're just going to turn my scriptures into a. Into a study journal. And they're going to personalize your scriptures for you with just the background information and the maps, and it's just going to turn your scriptures into scriptorian scriptures.
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Okay. Then we have read it, live it. This is for your day. It goes through every single day of the year. 365.
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Daily reminder.
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Daily reminder. One of the things that me and my roommate talked about the year before this came out, the don't miss this calendar came out is she was like, I have the hardest time because I just wish someone would tell me what I need to read every single day. This does that. It's gonna give you your daily scripture study, your daily reminder. It's gonna be there so quick, so easy, so simple.
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Yeah. And then these are for your walls for your house. Okay. Just a reminder each week. This could be your Sunday lesson. We're just trying to simplify. Come home from church. This is what we do. Ask everybody what is one thing you loved from church. And then we introduce this word to teach, like the lesson for that week, and it stands up as a reminder. So you have my journal, my scriptures, my house, and my daily reminders. Right? And you'll be all set, ready to go. And then each week, come on the podcast, we're going to simplify spirituality. So get excited. Get your hopes way, way up for it. Okay, you guys, now let's finish up. We have one more week after this. But wait, one more. Two more.
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Christmas.
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We have Christmas. And maybe let me look at our little handy dandy.
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Let's see.
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Handy dandy poster. Oh, yeah. Oh, the family proclamation.
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We have two more, right?
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And the living Christ. And then Christmas. Okay. And hopefully you are using.
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Is that red for Christmas?
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Yeah.
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That's cute.
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The Advent and Talking about names of Jesus. Because we're going to introduce a lesson, a tradition on our Christmas lesson. For that, if you go over to the Multiply Goodness Instagram page, there is a daily devotional happening over there about each of the names of Jesus that are found in that Advent. So it's the good news brand co Advent. We talked about it two weeks ago, and maybe you've seen it already. Anyways. All right, you guys, we're going to start today with the articles of Faith. I. I genuinely really love the articles of Faith.
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I'm gonna be honest. Me too.
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And I don't know if it's nostalgic from primary days or what it is, or. I just really, really love the word believe. That actually comes from that prefix on words. Be means. It comes from an old word that means fully. So to say I beloved, for example, means fully loved is what that word is. Believe. That leave part comes from the word lieb, the German word. So believe actually means with all your heart is what that means together. And so I love this idea of what we believe. I was getting a pickup order from Cheesecake Factory several years ago, and when I reached across the counter to grab my bag from the guy, he grabbed my wrist and he said, the worker at Cheesecake Factory. And he said, what do you believe? And I was like, this feels, like, really personal and semi inappropriate for the Cheesecake Factory. I love this place. You know, I apply to work there at least once a year because I want to try everything on the menu. But it just, like, I was like, wow, that's like, I. You know, like, do you ask your.
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This is really, like, the place.
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Do you ask your Uber driver?
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Not till, like, minute 35. Like, it's like.
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Like, right away, we like, what do you believe? And I was like. Like, I sort of stumbled. I was a little bit confused why he was asking me. And then I looked on my wrist and I. We had had youth conference, and the theme of youth conference was one of the articles of faith number 13. But it just said on the wristband that I was wearing, I got a party favor from youth conference that says I believe. So he saw that, and that's what he was asking. So I was like, now it makes sense. This all happens in my head in two seconds. Everything that's going on right now, by the way, I realize, oh, why you're asking. And then I actually moved to the question. I was like, okay, there's a line of people behind me. He doesn't want, like, an essay. What do I actually Answer when somebody asks me that question. So what do you believe? I mean, I couldn't say the whole 13th article of faith. I would have taken too long. And I don't know what the admonition of Paul is. So that would have been, like, awkward for everybody. And, like, I actually do. Everyone, we'll talk about it in a second. It's just a little podcast joke. Okay, but, like, honestly, like, it comes down to, like, what could you say when someone asks you what you believe? Right? There's a lot of, like, wild things that we could say. You know, I was in India with a friend and he said to me, honestly, like, I feel like in Hinduism there's a lot of wild beliefs, you know, like blue colored gods and things like that. And I said, in all fairness, we have a collab, you know, so, like, I think you could find.
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Be careful.
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I think you could find in every faith tradition, rumors, cultural beliefs, like wild, wild things in scripture, the Old Testament's next year. There's some wild things that you could, you could bring up. There's also fringe things. I've talked to, you know, a friend came up to me one time and says, don't you guys believe in not drinking tea? And I was like, well, that's a little nuanced, you know, like, okay, technically, I guess, but, like, would I say that's with all my heart believe, you know, like, is it with. Is that central to my faith? No, no, I would not. I would not say that. I would not begin there. There are truths that are big and bold and beautiful that I believe with my whole heart, that I think matter more than others, that I think are foundational for some of the practices that I practice. And I think the Articles of Faith is a great collection of them. I've never done this mentally. If I were to sit down and write my own articles of faith, I think this has influenced me so much that I would be hard to not just do. Yeah, what is in here. But I do believe if I did that and wrote down and said, what are, David, the 13 things you wish your kids knew before they left your house? What do you want those little kids of yours to know? David Butler believes. And that would be an interesting practice, I think an interesting thing to. To do. Or if you were at the Cheesecake Factory and you got one shot, what are you going to say?
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Just so you know, this is like, obviously David made this really clear, but this is a really good lesson tip. If you are teaching a lesson, to start out with this, to lead off and before you even get into the articles of faith, play that exact same game, like, okay, what would you say? Or what? Like, build your articles of faith. That's a really good. Like, get into the lesson. So that's like, just like a side note. But that's really.
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P.S. my line I said to the man is the first article of faith. I said, I believe in God. That's what I said. And then he gave me knuckles, and he was like, me too. I was like, thanks for the cheesecake, you know, and the physical assault. But, you know, but that's. That's where. And I love that number one starts there. Above all else, I believe in God, right? I believe that there is a. A Father in heaven who sees more and knows more and can do more. And he's watching over my life with really tender care. I. I believe there's something more than what I can see in front of me. There's something that I sense that's invisible but as palpable as the rest of my five senses. And that's what I think article of faith number one is about, that we begin with. Above all else, we believe in God. And we could expand that, right? Because 1B might be like, well, what do you believe about him? And maybe that's what the rest of the articles of faith are. What do you believe about God, the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost? What are they doing? What's their heart like? What's their work like? I never thought about the articles of faith like that till this very second, you know, but maybe they are, right? And you start going through. And don't you want to just, like, categorize each of them and say, like, okay, what's that mean then for us, right? What's it mean that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression? Right? It means that, like, God's going to take care of the things that were not your fault or you're doing. You might be experiencing the impact of them. But, like, what did each of the articles of faith teach us about the character of God? I've never done that before. Now I really want it.
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No, it would be really powerful. Well, and it is interesting because we talk about the articles of faith, especially, like, all the time when you're in primary, and then it's not like you outgrow them, but, like, a little bit. Like, it's just like, oh, in primary, you learn them because you learned the songs, and then all of a sudden they, like, get like, the other day in seminary, this came up so randomly, and I don't even remember what happened, but we started talking about them. I just actually remembered what happened. It's because I started humming the Sixth Article of Faith. And all the kids were like, what is that song? And I was like, oh, the sixth article of Faith? And all them, like, pretended to nod. And I was like, do you guys even know the sixth article of Faith? And they, like, looked, and they were like, yeah, like, we know it. And I was like, okay, say it then. And they were like, yeah.
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Like, yeah.
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And then I, like, started really realizing. And I was like, okay. I was like, I will give $300 if someone could tell me the sixth article of face right now. Not a single kid. They're like, screaming. They're like, please. No one could, like, get the sixth article of Faith. Which, of course is, like, so random. Like, it's like the most, like, whatever. But it was interesting because then we just, like, moved on with the list. It was, like, funny. Like, all of us laughed. Like, we moved on and like, we, like, read it or whatever. And then that was that. But the rest of the day, like, I couldn't get that out of my head. And I was like, it's so funny that, like, that was crazy. It felt so important in primary to learn the articles of faith. And then all of a sudden, just a few years later, it's just like, oh, I don't really know. I don't even think about the sixth article of Faith on a daily basis. And that whole night I kept thinking, like, why do I need to know them? What's the purpose of these articles of faith? And obviously they're important. We put them in scripture. Obviously there's a need for them. There's something powerful to be done. And so that night I went through. Because first of all, I can do the sixth article of Faith because I thought that was the catchiest song. But I was like, I don't really know the rest of em. And as I went through, I had all of my students in mind. And I started realizing, and maybe this is an accident. I don't know. But, like, this is, like, what was happening in my brain as I was reading through each one of them is all of a sudden it felt like God's plan written out. And it started at the very beginning. And he's like, okay, let's start in verse number one. It, like, didn't just, like, feel like random 13 things that we believe. Which I think growing up, I always thought that rather it Felt like God saying, like, let me take you on a journey, and if you want to live a life with me, this is what it's going to look like. And he started out and he's like, you've got to believe in me. You've got to believe that we are in this together, that I exist, that Jesus Christ is real, that the Holy Ghost will be with you. Then as you go through the rest of them, it honestly feels like that's what's happening.
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Well, let's do that for a second. Because number two says, now there's a problem.
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Yes.
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Right.
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Yep.
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Everyone experiences this problem, and it's your own sins. And also the fall of Adam and Eve 2 brings that up. Yep. Right. And it says, you won't be punished for Adam's transgression. I always wish two ended with your welcome. Yeah, Right. Because, like, you did inherit that problem, and it would be an eternal problem unless number three. Right, yeah. That a savior was sent.
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Yes.
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Right. Yeah. Okay. Keep going, Keep going. Are we having fun?
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Yeah.
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Well, okay. As you go through this, you're like, look. He's like, yeah. We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved. Everybody, like, look at what number three is teaching. Everybody can be saved. God so loved the whole world that he sent his word, that he sent his Son to overcome the problem. And number two, our own sins and the fall, the fault we talked about death last week. Right. I overcame that problem for everyone. And the ones that you cause yourself through the atonement of Jesus Christ. And I always, like, ask, what if it ended after saved? We believe through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved. The next natural question would be like, how? Yeah. How I want to be. Yeah. Right.
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And that's really interesting to me because I feel like a lot of the times when we wish that it stopped right there. Like, I think naturally we're like, oh, just let us all be saved. And then it's like, that seems really nice until you're the one that it's talking about. And then it's not like saying, like, this is like, good luck, like, hope this is gonna work out for you. It's not saying, like, it's probably not gonna work out for you. You're not qualifying for this. It does feel, rather than that, like, an exclusion. It says, let me guide you through this life.
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Yeah.
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Let me help you understand.
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Yeah. And he gives. And some aspects. And I know you know this, but let's be clear. Some aspects of the atonement of Christ are given at his cost to us freely.
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Yes.
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But then he says, let me teach you how to access more of that saving grace and that exalting power. And he says, it's through the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. It's a system that he set up. He's like, if you'll live these principles and participate in these ordinances, you'll have greater access to overcome the problems of article of faith number two. So the next natural question would be, well, what are they? Teach me the principles, Teach me the ordinances. And four, it says, well, here's the first ones. These aren't all of them, but here's the first ones. Trust in Jesus Christ, turn back to him every day, enter into covenant relationship with him, receive his gift that will be your companion throughout your entire life, that will deliver his power and his grace to you. It's like, wow, that's awesome. Can anyone do that? Verse five, I mean, article faith five, the Lord gave us, and he's like, there are people that will be given his authority to be able to administer these exalting ordinances to the world. He's also gonna set up. Remember last week we said he organized his forces, right? And gave people power and commission to be able to take this to everybody, right?
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Yeah. And then what's gonna happen for the rest of them is they all go through just like that. The more you start asking the natural questions that go along with each article of faith, the more the next verse answers the question. And then all of a sudden, this isn't random. 13 things that we believe is in fact God laying out his plan in 13 of the most simple verses you've ever read in your life. He says, let me spell this out for you. Let me answer the questions before you even ask them. And what I love so much is as I did that, not only did I begin to be really thankful for a God that knows me better than I could even know myself, a God that will answer questions before I even think to ask them. But I also really started to love the fact that, like the. Where the first article of faith begins and where the 13th ends, it begins with step number one is just to believe. And then all of a sudden it gets to step number 13 and it starts building this idea of who you will become if you believe in a God like we do. And it goes through and it says, this is how you're going to live your life, and these are the ordinances you're going to make, and these are the things you're going to believe and you're going to go gather Israel and you're going to do all of these things. And in the very end, it's going to say, and let me help you realize who you will be. You are going to be honest and true and chaste, benevolent, virtuous. You're gonna go through and you're gonna endure and you're gonna hope and you're gonna find really lovely things. And that is going to be who you become as a result of what you believe. And I think that is so encouraging for me as a believer to realize not only do I believe in a really good God, but I believe in a God who, who wants me to be good also. And that's the natural consequence of believing in Him. He says, you'll go through this journey in life and at the very end you will look at yourself and say, look who I got to become here.
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I also love looking at the Articles of Faith as a list of gifts, things that God has given to the world to help bring this about, right? First and foremost, his own son, right? Priesthood authority, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, six that you love so much. Apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, right? Patriarchs.
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That is the best. And it just is simply true.
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7. I will give gifts of tongues, of revelation, of visions, of healings. I'm giving the gift of Scripture in verse eight. And I'm giving the gift of continued revelation in, in verse nine, I'm giving. And then in 13, it just gets all exposed, expansive. Everything and anything on this world that's lovely and good report. That will help you believe, that will help you hope, that will help you to endure. I'm going to give you those things. We believe in that kind of God and that kind of purpose that he has sent us into. Now I want to use these art two of these Articles of Faith as a way to spring into the other part of this lesson, which is Official Declaration one and Official Declaration two. And I wrote like just, just above this, those two official Declarations. We also believe, right? So coming off of Articles of Faith, I think it's great to Study Official Declaration 1 and 2. Those are about two very specific topics. And I'd like you to kind of create Articles of Faith from official declaration 1 and 2. What do these mean? That you believe. And be careful about getting too specific, right? Because with Official Declaration 1 was the manifesto that ended plural marriage. So probably a C minus article of faith would be. And we don't believe in plural marriage anymore. Like, it's like, hold on, don't Be so specific.
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Like you did read that.
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Like let's. Like what's this teaching about? Yeah, about God. And I actually think that you're going to see article of faith 9 and 10 at play. And let me read those to you in case that your grace is class and you need $300. We believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now currently reveal. And we believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God. The end of that is fantastic. He's not just going to reveal some stuff. There are yet many great and important things, things yet to come. At the time of this writing, when Joseph Smith wrote Article of faith at 9, we didn't have section 138 that we studied last week. All those many great and important things. Right. And, and we can make a list of, of some of those. So nine is telling us there are going to be more things that God's going to reveal. And when God reveals more things, in consequence, he reveals more about his character and more about his. About his heart. Now let me introduce 10 to you so that, so that we just have it as a background for what we're going to read in the official declarations. But he says, we believe in the literal gathering of Israel and the restoration of the ten tribes. That Zion will be built upon the American continent and Christ will reign personally upon the earth, and the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. Verse 10 gives us this like commission. We believe in this gathering of all people everywhere in the world. And we've been endowed with the keys and the gifts to be able to do this, to bring all people to Jesus Christ, to create Heaven Zion of one heart and one mind. And I love that. 10 gives us a vision of what we'll be and the permission to engage and the commission to engage in the work of helping to bring it about. Right, okay, so those two as the backdrop, let's look at official declarations one and two and say, okay, what do we also believe with official declarations 1 and 2? For some reason my whole phone wanted to start all the way over. Okay, so official declaration 1. Now historically, this one ends plural marriage officially as a practice of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. But I think there's some awesome lines in here that we realize as you.
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B
Read through, even at the very beginning.
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A
Yeah, yeah. Say, go ahead and start.
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B
Well, actually I just did a lie. I was just. The very beginning of the page I was on. Never mind. You go.
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A
No go. That's Great, because I bet we're going to start in the same place.
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I was going to start from excerpt X. Yeah, good.
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A
Yes. Say that.
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Okay. Excerpts. Is that right?
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A
Excerpts.
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Excerpts.
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A
I don't know why that English is weird, you guys.
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B
It's fine. Sorry, everyone. Sorry right there. I'm gonna start in the excerpt from the three addresses by President Wilford Woodruff. I'm having a tongue twister right now. Everyone. It's fine. But even in that very first line, you could take out that very first line, and that could be an article of faith by itself. Instantly, automatically. So clearly. Look, all you have to do is put, we believe. We believe. The Lord will never permit me or. Or any other man who stands as president of this church to lead you astray. Instantly you learn something that is really powerful and beautiful to learn about our church, that no matter what we say all the time, like, everyone has flaws and everyone makes mistakes. This is true. This is true. That's an important thing to realize. That's an important thing to believe. But what I think it teaches us more here than about men and women who make mistakes and who can still be building the kingdom of God and be a part of God's church isn't actually about men at all. It's actually about God. That's what we're really learning about right now is that the Lord will not permit the leader of his church to lead his people astray.
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A
Yeah. And I think it's important that you brought up that. Because there is a difference between making mistakes and leading people astray. We actually have. I'm not in the business of pointing out other people's mistakes. I just feel like that's a great personal way to live your life, just to not seek for and look for the way people make mistakes. But we do have a theology that says prophets can make mistakes. Can parents make mistakes? Yes. So can relief study presidents make mistakes? Yes. Can bishops make mistakes? Yes. Can general authorities make like, this is immortality. The calling does not eliminate that. But there is a difference between leading astray and him allowing people. He will not allow the president of the church to lead people away from. From Jesus Christ and away from faith in Jesus Christ and away from the ordinances to receive Jesus Christ and the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Right. I will not. He will not let them lead us astray from that. But will he let us make mistakes as part of this mortal experience? Absolutely. And I like that you bring that up. There's a difference between.
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B
And I think that line is so sweet to Me, three, like, lines down, like three sentences in. It is not in the mind of God. Yeah. And what I think is that is such an important phrase to me right now because what is in the mind of God is allowing for mortality to mean that humans can make mistakes.
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Yeah.
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That is in his mind. He's aware of that. He built his plan on that. That's not going anywhere. But what isn't in the mind of God is the leader of his church to lead everyone in the whole entire church away. Like, that's a difference to me.
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A
Yeah. And I think the rest of this kind of shows that. Like where he says, I will allow the messiness of mortality. If you skip down to what paragraph is that under? Still in the excerpt section, that's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Six paragraph, almost.
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What does it start with? You should say that.
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Oh, the sixth paragraph begins with the Lord showed me by vision in revelation, exactly what would happen. And those paragraphs in between there, Wilford Woodruff outlines, like, the struggle. He's like, there is a lot of legal pressure, but also I, you know, I've. I have a testimony of this principle. I like. It's really hard for people. Some are going to be really relieved by this. Some are going to be like, what the heck is happening? Right. There's a lot happening on his mind.
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A lot of opinions, a lot of outside forces types.
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And he says this. I want you to answer it for yourselves. I will not answer. He says, this question I have for you. And he invites them into just the struggle that brought about the revelation. And I think that's interesting because it's giving. It's giving us, like, it's teaching us something else about the mind of God that he was like, oh, I'm going to let you work through and struggle through, like, what seems to be two opposing good choices. And he says, the Lord is saying and giving us permission to ask and answer for ourselves. I want you to think through this. She's like, as president of the church, I'm not coming in with a gavel and saying, this is the mind and the will of the Lord. Get in line. He says, I actually want you to work through this for yourself. That's part of the program. It's for us to have leaders that we sustain. But ask the questions, work through it, gain the witness for yourself. Right. And that is. That's one of our articles of faith that we're making up right now, too. What else do we. Oh, here's one. Go two more paragraphs down. Here's Another line that I think is in here. I leave this with you.
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B
Oh yeah, about.
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A
Yes, yeah, I leave this with you. But here's the line. There's that first sentence. Here's the second one. I highlighted this one.
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B
Me too.
- [29:57]
A
We believe the Lord is at work with us.
- [30:00]
B
That is the best line in Official Declaration 1 in Official Declaration 1. Like that is such a good line. Anyways, keep going. Sorry.
- [30:08]
A
Yeah, no, I love. No, that's great. And then one more that I wanna point out is in the very last paragraph. Now I will tell you what was manifested to me. It starts with this. Almighty God decreed, this is toward the end, that the devil should not thwart it. Meaning this work. And if you can understand that that is a key to it, right? He lays out like this question that he has, like, what is the right choice to make? And the Lord led me this direction, but I, but I struggled through it. But he says, end of the day, this is what you have to know. Almighty God has decreed the devil will not thwart this work. You have to know as you move through and make decisions and make mistakes, there's no mistake too big that the devil will win. Almighty God will not allow the devil to thwart the work. To thwart your work of guiding those you love to a heavenly paradise to eventually all of us gathered together in Zion, right, as one in Christ. God is at work in us. And it's going to be messy along the way. But know this, he won't allow the devil to thwart it. He does not win. Right? There is a safety net under mortality that says, I will let you grow and progress through the mess and mistake and hardships. But know this, I won't allow the devil to win. So I love that like reassurance as people are like, oh my, my gosh, this is crazy. This is so life changing. This is so like, you know, it's like, don't worry, it's all in the program, right? I'm going to make this work out.
- [31:55]
B
And I think it just for me, I just love those, those two lines are my lines that I can't get out of my mind of. This from this little declaration is it's not in the mind of God. And that like in the mind of God, like, God didn't forget about the devil. God didn't forget about mortality. God didn't forget about mistakes and misunderstandings. God didn't forget about the influence of other people in your life. God didn't forget about anything. But the Lord is at work with us. That is in his mind, he said he will work and work and work, and it's gonna be messy. Work usually is. And it's gonna be exhausting and you're gonna get tired and it's gonna be a lot. But the Lord is at work with us, and God has things in mind.
- [32:38]
A
Yeah, okay. And something similar happens in Official declaration number two. Again, this starts with another prophet of God talking about hours of contemplation and pondering and prayer and trying to wrestle through an issue, because there's no such. Like, we don't wrestle through, like, issues in a vacuum and principles and policies in a vacuum. They impact people, and that's what's so important to them, because people are so important to God. And in Official Declaration 1 and 2, it's going to impact families and it's going to impact lives and it's going to impact people's hearts and feelings. And that's why there is a wrestle. And I feel like God allows us to wrestle as a reminder to us that the hearts and souls of people are important to me. They're important to me, you know, And I love seeing that wrestle. That's all in here. And Official Declaration 2 is the one that ends the ban on the priesthood to those who are descendants of African descent. Black African descent. Right. And it ends it. And I think this one is sensitive, right? And I think it's important to look at a couple things with this. First of all, let's introduce, well, maybe, maybe we'll save like, what I think is the, the best article of faith from this one and say this. Let's historically just like, set this up and say the church is pretty clear to say right now, we don't know where this came from. Right? We don't know where the ban came from. Was it a revelation or was it a mistake? But we don't know where it came from. We do know how it ended, right? And I think that's important. And that doesn't dismiss any of the heartache that it caused or any of the, of the questions or any of the, you know, but what we, what we know is we don't know how it started. And I love President Oaks who said one time some have tried to guess and they've been spectacularly wrong about where it came from, right? Or the reason, the reason for it. We just don't know how it started, but we do know how it ended. Right? And I think this is interesting, you know, as to take this in context of other scripture. I was just thinking about this, the great warning of the Book of Mormon is against contention. And those who try and stir it up. It just happens again and again and again in that book. And sometimes over the issue of what seems like race within a family. Right. Just like that's the great warning of the Book of Mormon. And the great promise of the Restoration is Zion, it's unity. So the Book of Mormon, which came about in the Restoration, is warning us against fighting and contention and people who try to stir that up. And the great promise of the Restoration is unity and oneness in Christ. And I don't know all the details about what started the ban, but I do know that Official Declaration 2 is one step, maybe a giant one. I know it moves in the direction of the promise of the Restoration. It moves us in the direction of unity and gathering together one in Christ. And it moves away from that, the contention. Right. The Book of Mormon warns against. So historically, I think that is what I would think is important to say and to know. And then maybe that's like an article of faith in and of itself, right? Where it's like, I don't know why everything is happening the way it is. We believe. We don't have all the answers. How about that?
- [36:29]
B
Yeah.
- [36:30]
A
Article of faith, right? And I think maybe there's. There's some power in the articles of Faith and saying, well, then how about you come back to number one, like, if you don't know what to do with all of this over here, I'm not dismissing it. Maybe begin with, okay, I do believe in God, Right. And I do believe this and this and this about his heart and character.
- [36:52]
B
So then where do we go from there?
- [36:53]
A
Yeah. And then now you know, where do we go from there? But do you have favorite lines from Official Declaration, too?
- [36:59]
B
I don't want to steal it. I don't want to steal yours. So should we?
- [37:02]
A
Yeah, steal. You can steal.
- [37:03]
B
Well, I think that I noticed this in both. I noticed this in both the declarations is as I was reading through. Not only do I feel like I got a glimpse into the heart of the Lord, but I think it opened my eyes into, like, different methods of receiving revelation. And both of them came in very different ways. I think one of the things I love about the official declarations is I think it's evidence that God didn't stop speaking. Speaking after Joseph died.
- [37:31]
A
Oh, yeah, it's nine. It's. I was going to say that it's article of Faith 9 being played out.
- [37:35]
B
Yep, exactly. It's real God. That's why I said it's True. Bring that back. There is that. I think that gives us even more evidence than we could ever hope for that God has not stopped speaking to people on earth today.
- [37:47]
A
Yeah.
- [37:48]
B
And here it is.
- [37:49]
A
And if there is something you're wrestling with or questions on things that you have. Yeah, this is a. Like, what is it? It's like a. It's a. It's a message of hope that says God cares and there is an answer. He is going to, like, resolve it.
- [38:06]
B
And I think even yes, eventually is a really powerful word because even if it comes a little bit later than you expected, or even if the answer is something you have to wrestle for, and I think that's really cool that I feel like both of the official declarations, the revelation came in very different ways and came in very different timetables. But what I really love about it is, I think as you read through it, it will teach you individual lessons about revelation. And I think that's some of my favorite parts and pieces from official declaration number two is the lessons it teaches you on how to receive answers. And you'll go through and you'll read extended meditation and prayer in the sacred rooms of the holy temple. And immediately in my head, I was like, oh, that's where I need to go if I need revelation. Like, it's spelling it out for me. You're going to see that over and over many hours in the upper room of the temple, supplicating the Lord for divine guidance. And all of a sudden, there's these moments and times that I'm realizing, like, the answers, specifically answers that seem difficult to understand or answers that you're not sure where to go or how to receive them, require time, and it requires. Requires diligence, and it requires effort on our part. And I think that, like, reading through that, that's one of the things that, like, stuck out to me the most, is what it looks like to get answers.
- [39:21]
A
Yeah, Again, some people did have to deal with the. The beginning and the changes with poor marriage. I don't think anyone alive has, you know. Yep, there are people alive who've had to deal with official decoration, too. And the pain of wondering where that came from and what that means, and then the celebration of that revelation, you know.
- [39:45]
B
Yeah.
- [39:45]
A
I have not personally dealt with one or two, but I have my own wrestles, and so does everybody listening. And there's things that I'm like that do bring me pain and I do wonder about also. And there's something in here, and it's in the part that starts with 6-8-1978 Dear Brethren Right, and the second paragraph, there's two parts in this. One says, aware of the promises made that sometimes we live in that already, but not yet. The promises have been made, but they have not yet been fulfilled. And there were people pre1978 that lived in this hope of promise that wasn't yet fulfilled. We all know what that feels like. We all know what it feels like to live in the hope of a promise that hasn't been fulfilled yet. And we're aware of those promises. And skip down to the next paragraph. Something I love About Official Declaration 2 is this line will be true of everybody who lives in the hope of a promise not yet fulfilled. He has heard your prayers and by revelation has confirmed the long promised day has come. Anybody who sits in a question or a worry or a mess or a doubt, that line is coming for you. What? The long promised day will come for any and for all of us. We're aware of the promises. We wait in the hope and I love right in between those two in the middle, he says, and we witness the faithfulness of those in this particular case who the priesthood has been withheld. And for you and me, something is being withheld right now. May whatever it may be, a promise from a patriarchal blessing, a promise from Scripture right where you're like that is being withheld from me right now. And in the meantime I'm going to try and live faithfully. I'm not and wait for that long promised day to finally and eventually come. Because it does. Number 10 Article Faith Number 10 is the work of God that one day Zion is going to be brought about and the whole world, all are going to be gathered in and all promises are going to be fulfilled. And we're working to that all together. And no matter what happens, the devil's not going to be able to thwart it. God is going to win and we get to be a part of it. In the meantime. That is something we believe. And we'll see you next week. If you want to follow along in everything we're doing, you can find us on Instagram at Don't miss this study at this week's Grace and at MrDave Butler.
- [42:33]
B
And if you want to subscribe to the app or get our weekly newsletter, all of the information can be found at. Don't miss this study dot com.
- [42:39]
A
See you next week.